Time delay switch



Sept. 9, 1958 E. F. MEKELBURG TIME DELAY SWITCH 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNov. 24, 1952 Ill, II I INVENTOR. .527? Maze/Z2 7? Sept. 9, 1958 E. F.MEKELBURG TIME DELAY SWITCH 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 24, 1952 rINVENTOR. 4 [47/ F/VeZe/Zz/rg BY flTTOF/VZX Sept. 9, 1958 E. F.MEKELBURG TIME DELAY SWITCH 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 24, 1952Fatented Sept. 9, 1958 TIME DELAY SWITCH Earl F. Mekeihurg, Wauwatosa,Wis., assignor to Square D Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation ofMichigan Application November 24, 1952, Serial No. 322,222

8 Claims. (Cl. 200-) This invention relates, in general, to devices forcontrolling electric translating devices. More specifically, theinvention relates to a switch having contacts for controlling thedirection selecting circuit associated with an electric motor, andfurther having time delay means controlling other contacts associatedwith the accelerating circuit of the electric motor.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved electricswitch for starting and controllably accelerating an electric motor, thedevice incorporating a timing mechanism operating in response to thefiow of air through an adjustably restricted orifice.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device inaccordance with the preceding object in which manual operable means areprovided which operate the direction controlling circuit of theassociated device, and which simultaneously initiates operation of thetiming mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of the device inaccordance with the preceding object in which the amount of operation ofthe timing mechanism is directly controlled by the movement of themanual means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a switch having a pair ofcommon contacts for connection to a suitable source of electric energy,manual means being provided for operating these contacts, and furtherswitching means being provided having common movable contactselectrically connected to the aforementioned common contacts.

Another object of the invention is the provision of the device inaccordance with the preceding objects in which means are provided forpreventing simultaneous operation of both of the manual operablecontacts.

Other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the specification and appended drawingsillustrating certain prev ferred embodiments in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device of the present invention with thecover removed. I

Figure 2 is a sectional View along the plane of line 1I-Il of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view along the plane of line IlIIII ofFigure -1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view along the plane of line IVIV of Figure 2showing the timing mechanism and its associated structure in operatingposition.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the plane of line VV of Figure1.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view on the plane of line VI-V-I ofFigure 1.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view on the plane of may be providedand attached to the base 1 by suitable means.

Disposed transversely of the base 1 is an insulating block 4 upon whichare mounted a plurality of generally Z-shaped conducting members 5. Themembers 5 are mounted upon the block 4 in such manner that they arespaced both laterally and vertically from each other. Upon each of themembers 5 there is pivotally attached a contact finger 6 each of whichcarries an electrical contact 7. As may be seen from Figure 5, thecontact fingers 6 are biased toward the associated members 5 bysuitable, conventional spring means 8.

Also connected to the block 4 at the interior wall thereof is agenerally U-shaped member 9 which is mounted to the block 4 by suitablemeans such as the screw 11. The member 9 has spaced arms 12 and 13 atthe extremities of which are cars 14 and 15 respectively. Each of thecars 14 and 15 carries an electrical contact 10, as shown in Figure 5.

Also mounted upon the block 4 are generally Z-shaped members 16 and 17,similar to members 5. Hingedly mounted to the under side (from the viewof Figure 1) of the members 16 and 17 are contact fingers 18 and 19,each of which carries an electrical contact 20 disposed to cooperatewith the electrical contacts 1% upon the ears 14 and 15. Suitable springmeans 21, similar to spring means 8, are provided to bias the fingers 18and 19 toward the members 17 and 16 respectively.

Extending transversely across, and mounted through suitable aperturesin, the base 1 is a pin 22 upon which are rotatably mounted a pair ofmanual operating means comprising levers 23 and 24. Levers 23 and 24 areprovided at their exterior ends with suitable flanges 25 and 26respectively whereby the operator may effect rotation of the levers.Springs 27 and 28 are provided which bias the operating levers 23 and 24respectively toward the position illustrated in Figure 2. The interiorextremities of levers 23 and 24 carry insulating arms 29 and 31respectively. Insulating arm 29 engages contact finger 18 and normallyprevents its moving under the bias of the spring means 21.Simultaneously, insulating arm 31 normally engages contact finger 19 andprevents its movement toward the member 16 under the influence of theassociated spring means 21, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Also rotatably mounted upon the pin 22 is a spring retainer plate 32.Provided on the operating levers 23 and 24 are lugs 33 and 34respectively which, upon the operation of the operating levers, engagethe underside of the spring retainer plate 32 to move it in acounter-clockwise direction about the pin 22. Abutting against thespring retainer plate 32 is one end of a spring 35, the other end ofwhich engages a retainer 36 which is biased by the spring 35 against acotter pin which extends through a suitable hole in a pin 37.

As may be seen from Figure 4, the opposite end of the pin 37 extendsthrough the base 1 and into one chamber of a timing mechanism, indicatedgenerally by the numeral 38. This timing mechanism, which is mounted tothe under surface of the base 1, comprises a pair of segments 39 and 41separated by a diaphragm 42- As seen in Figure 4, the central portion ofthe diaphragm 42 is mounted to the pin 37 by suitable fastening meansinarea of the passage 51 is determined by the depressed end 52"of anadjusting screw 53 having suitable threads and being positionable tovary the position ofthe end 52 relative to the passage 51. A .valveindicated generally by the numeral 54 is provided which permits movementof the diaphragm 42 from the position illustrated in Figure 4 to theunoperated position; that is to say, to the position.

in which the chamber: 45' is the minimum substantially instantaneously.

Also provided upon the pin 22 is a bracket 55 having a pair of'armswhich are positioned upon the pin 22, the arms being joined together attheir under surface by a plate 56. A flange 57 is providedon the plate56 and 'a spring 58' is interposed betweenthe flange '57 and the-base 1to'bias the bracket 55"toward the position illustrated in Figure 2. Theinwardly projecting portions of the arms ofbracket 55 are connectedtogether by a pin 59'which extends'through the pin 37. These inwardportions of the'arrns of bracket 55 are also provided with flanges whichmount an accelerating plate 61 to which is fastened a conducting plate62 having electrical contacts 30 thereon disposed to cooperate with theelectrical contacts 7 upon the fingers 6.

A mechanical interlock is provided for operation with the operatinglevers 23 and 24 which comprises a plate' 63 vof suflicient breadth, asmay be seen from Figured as to be contacted by either operating leverupon its The plate 63 is pivoted upon a screw 64- vided upon-theconducting plate 62 and a flexible. elec-'.

trical conductor 73 is connected from the terminal .72 to .a suitableterminal 74 upon the member'9. A flexible lead 76 is connected to themember 9 at a mounting screw 11. Similar flexible leads 77 and 78 areconnected to the members 17 and 16 respectively, and otherfiexibleconnectors 79 are connected to the members 5. These flexible connectorsproject through the base 1 and extend through a flexible tubing 81.

Operation of the device will now be. described:

The flexible connector 76 is connected to a suitable source ofelectrical energy. .Flexible connectors 77 and 78 are connected to thedirection selecting circuits of the controlled motor, one of theseconnectors being connected tozthe forward circuit while the other isconnected to the reverse circuit. Flexible connectors 79 are con nectedto the circuits for controlling the amount of resistance in circuit withthe electrical motor to deter-mine thereby its rotational speed.

Depression of the flange 25 of the operating member 23 will' eflect itsrotation in a generally counter-clockwise direction from the view ofFigure 2, whereby the insulating arm 29 will be raised. The contactfinger 18 will. thereby close its contact 20 uponthecontactlt). on car15'. so that the flexible lead 77 will be electrically con-. nected tothe source of energy. As the operating-lever rotates, the lug 33 thereofwill engage the under surface.- of thespring retainer plate 32 to effectits rotation in acounterclockwise direction about the pin 22. Asplate.32 is raised, spring 35 is compressed and operates against.

retainer 36, and consequently biasesthe pin 37 outwardly. The rate atwhich pin 37v moves is determined,..as.pr eviously described, by thesetting of the pin 53. of-the timing.

mechanism. As the .pin 37 moves upwardly. -at. its. controlled rate, thearms of bracket 55, connected to the.

pin 37 by means of the pin 59, will be raised therewith whereby theconducting plate 62 will move steadily upwardly; As plate62 movesupwardly, it will successively engage "its contacts 30-With contacts 7"on the contact fingers 6, as will readily be seen from a considerationof Figure 5. As each of these fingers 6 is successively engaged, thatfinger is electrically connected to the source of electrical energy, andthe flexible lead connected with that finger 6 carries current to theassociated portion of the acceleration circuit to cut out some of theresistance in circuit with the controlled motor. When the plate 62 hasreached its maximum movement, all of the fingers 6 are engagedthereby,.and all of the accelerating resistance is disconnected from thecontrolled motor.

Upon release of thelever'23, the spring. 27 rotates it-in.

a clockwise direction whereby the insulating bar 29engagesitherzfingerl182to break the connection between finger 18 and ear15. Simultaneously, lug 33 releases the plate 32 and spring 58 rotatesthe bracket 55 to the position illustrated in Figure 2. As previouslyindicated, the pin 37 will return rapidly to its retracted position.Upon release of the lever 23, the spring 65 returns the plate 63 to theposition illustrated in Figure 6 whereby either of the levers may thenagain be depressed. When lever 24 is rotated, plate 63 again preventsoperation of the other'lever', while insulating arm 31 permitsengagement' ofthe contacts 20'and 10 of finger 19 and ear 14,

whereby" the direction selecting circuit associated with" the flexibleconnector 78 is energized and the accelerating circuits associated withthe electrical'motor are energized in the manner previously described.

It should .be noted that the operator may at any time change the timingcharacteristic of the device by rotation of the knurled nub 60, therebychanging the position of pin 53 relative 'to-the passage 51.Furthermore, the-operator can also effect engagement between the contactplate 62 and the associated contact finger 6 at'as' slowa rate as hedesires, inasmuch as the force'applied' tothe pin '37 to move itoutwardly is-directly controlled by the amount of movement applied bythe lugs 33 and 34 tothe*springretaining'plate 32. This also permits himto Istopiithe movementof contact plate 62 in any inter= mediateposition.

It will therefore be seen that the device of the present inventionprovides for controlling both the forward and reverse circuits of anelectric motor and simultaneously provides for: controllingthe.acceleration of the motor.

The rate of acceleration may at any time be varied and" the. operatormay, by controlling the amount of pressure applied to the: operating.lever, accelerate. the control Furthermore, means are motor as slowlyas he sees fit. provided which positively prevent operation of both theforward and reverse circuits simultaneously.

While; a certain preferred embodiment of the invention has beenspecifically disclosed, it is understood that the-- invention is notlimited thereto, as many variations will be readily. apparent to thoseskilled in the art and the in vention is :to be given its broadestpossible interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a switching device of the character described:

the combination comprising; a first and a second manually.

operable means, a first switch mechanically connected with and operableby the firstimanually operable, means;

a second switch mechanically connected with and operable by the secondmanually operable means, interlock means operative topreventrsimultaneous.operationof bothisaid first and second switches, aplurality of third switches, and an adjustable timing meansoperablyconnected with the third switches and with the first and second manuallyoperablemeans andrendered operative by either of the first and secondmanually operable means upon'opera-- tion of. either. of. the firstandsecond switches .toxactuate the third switches at predetermined timeintervals after.-.

either of. thefirst and second switches is operated.

2. In a switching device of the character described,

the combination comprising; a firstand a second manually operable means,a first switch mechanically connected withand operable by the firstmanually operable means,

a second switch mechanically connected with and operable by the secondmanually operable means, interlock means operative to preventsimultaneous operation of both said first and second switches, aplurality of third switches, and an adjustable timing means operablyconnected with both the third switches and with said first and secondmanually operable means and arranged for sequentially actuating thethird switches at predetermined time intervals after either of the firstand second switches is operated by the manually operable means.

3. In a switching device of the character described, the combinationcomprising; a first and a second manually operable means, a first switchmechanically connected with and operable by the first manually operablemeans, a second switch mechanically connected with and perable by thesecond manually operable means, interlock means operative to preventsimultaneous operation of both said first and second switches, aplurality of third switches, means mounting said third switches inmutual lateral and vertical displacement, and an adjustable timing meansoperably connected with said first and second operable means andrendered operative upon operation of either of the first and secondswitches to move vertically to engage and operate the third switchessuccessively at predetermined time intervals after either of the firstand second switches is actuated by the manually operable means.

4. In a switching device of the character described, the combinationcomprising; a first and a second manually operable means, a first switchmechanically connected with and operable by the first manually operablemeans, a second switch mechanically connected with and operable by thesecond manually operable means, interlock means operative to preventsimultaneous operation of both said first and second switches, aplurality of third switches, each of said third switches comprising arelatively fixed and a relatively movable contact engageable with eachother, means mounting the fixed contacts in mutual lateral and verticaldisplacement, means mounting the movable contacts in a common plane, andan adjustable timing means operably connected with said first and secondoperable means and rendered operative upon operation of either of thefirst and second switches to move vertically and force said movablecontacts into engagement with said stationary contacts, respectively,successively at predetermined time intervals.

5. In a switch device of the character described, the combinationcomprising; a first and a second manually operable means, a first switchmechanically connected with and operable by the first manually operablemeans, a second switch mechanically connected with and operable by thesecond manually operable means, interlock means for preventingsimultaneous operation of both said first and second switches, aplurality of third switches, an adjustable timing means operablyconnected with the third switches, spring means arranged to normallybias the timing means to an inoperative position, and means connectingthe timing means with the first and second manually operated means forcontrolling movement of the timing means, when the manual means aremoved for selectively operating the first and second switches, therebyto cause said third switches to operate at a predetermined time intervalafter the operation of the first or second switches.

6. In a switch the combination comprising; a first and a second manuallyoperable means, a first switch mechanically connected with and operableby said first manual means, a second switch mechanically connected withand operable by said second manual means, interlock means for preventingsimultaneous operation of both said first and second switches, aplurality of third switches, each of said third switches including arelatively fixed and a relatively movable contact, means mounting saidrelatively fixed contacts in mutual lateral and vertical displacement,means mounting said relatively movable contacts in a common plane and inelectrical connection with each other, timing means including a membermovable vertically at a controlled rate from an unoperated to anoperated position, spring means normally biasing said member towardunoperated position, means connecting said manual means with the timingmeans for permitting said movement of said member after said manualmeans has operated either said first or second switch, means connectedwith said movable member and operative during said movement of saidmember to move said movable contacts into engagement with saidstationary contacts, respectively, at predetermined times afteroperation of either of said first or second switches, and means forconnecting said first, second and third switches to ex terior electricalcircuits whereby said third switches operate to change the condition ofthe electrical circuits associated therewith at timed intervalssubsequent to the operation of either said first or second switches andconsequent changes in the condition of the electrical circuitsassociated therewith.

7. The device of claim 1 in which said first and sec-- References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Read Dec. 15, 1925 JoyFeb. 28, 1939

